Velikaya River

Coordinates: 57°51′30.43″N 28°9′10.11″E / 57.8584528°N 28.1528083°E / 57.8584528; 28.1528083

For the Velikaya river in Far East Siberia, see Velikaya River (Chukotka).

The Velikaya (Russian: Великая) is a river in Novosokolnichesky, Pustoshkinsky, Sebezhsky, Opochetsky, Pushkinogorsky, Ostrovsky, Palkinsky, and Pskovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the city of Pskov in Russia. It is a major tributary of Lake Peipus and belongs to the basin of the Narva River. It is 430 kilometres (270 mi) long, and the area of its basin 25,200 square kilometres (9,700 sq mi). The name of the river means literally "Grand" or "Great" in Russian. The towns of Opochka, Ostrov and Pskov are located on the banks of the Velikaya. The principal tributaries of the Velikaya are the Alolya River (right), the Issa River (left), the Sorot River (right), the Sinyaya River (left), the Utroya River (left), the Kukhva River (left), the Cheryokha River (right), and the Pskova River (right).

The source of the Velikaya is located in the Bezhanitsy Hills in the northwest of Novosokolnichesky District. The river flows south through a system of lakes to Lake Veryato, where it turns west. It accepts the Alolya from the right and gradually turns north, passing through the town of Opochka. Northwest of the urban-type settlement of Pushkinskiye Gory it turns west, accepts the Sinyaya from the left and turns north. In the city of Pskov the Velikaya accepts the Pskova from the right and turns northwest, forming a river delta as it enters Lake Peipus.

The drainage basin of the Velikaya comprises vast areas in the west and southwest of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the east of Latvia and in the north of the Vitebsk Region of Belarus.

The river has a significant historic importance. Pskov was founded in 903, and the Velikaya provided it with access to the sea, via Lake Peipus and the Narva River.

The Velikaya is navigable in its lower course (34 kilometres (21 mi)).